By Aimee Look

Ben & Jerry's independent board members accused parent company Magnum Ice Cream of blocking their attempts to appoint a former employee as a director, according to a court filing, the latest sign of tensions between the brand's board and its owner.

The complaint--filed Sunday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York--is the latest in a string of legal moves by Ben & Jerry's independent directors against the business's owner after Magnum in December introduced new requirements on the board that led to the ouster of its chair and two other members.

A Magnum spokesman said in a statement Tuesday that the company is fully committed to Ben & Jerry's three-part mission of profits, product and social impact.

"While we prefer to engage in collaborative discussions and not protracted litigation, we remain fully confident in our case," the spokesman said.

The filing said the independent directors requested on Dec. 11 that Magnum appoint Ben & Jerry's veteran and former global social mission director, Chris Miller, to the independent board.

The nomination was initially welcomed by Magnum Chief Executive Peter ter Kulve, according to the filing.

"This is excellent news. Welcome to the board, the management team will enjoy working with you and driving the mission," Ter Kulve said, according to the filing.

Then, the company reversed course on Dec. 15, claiming that Miller wasn't properly appointed, the filing said. The filing also said that Magnum told the independent directors they were required to inform the company about the steps they had taken to confirm Miller's eligibility.

Miller couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Magnum said that when the independent directors informed the parent company of their intention to appoint Miller as a member of the board, it asked them to follow the nomination process, which included confirmation that Miller met the necessary criteria and would affirm the Code of Business Principles.

In December, Ben & Jerry's imposed nine-year term limits on board members through a reform package that pushed out three directors, including Chair Anuradha Mittal, from their roles.

The board's remaining independent directors subsequently said in another court filing that Ben & Jerry's had threatened to oust the other independent board members. Magnum denied the accusation.

Ben & Jerry's board and its owners--first Unilever and then Magnum after the consumer-goods group spun off its ice-cream business under that name--have been embroiled in a spat for years over whether to take public stances on social issues, particularly the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The disagreement stems from a unique acquisition agreement Unilever struck with co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, which gave the independent board leeway to make choices on the brand's mission and marketing. One of the board's main gripes is what independent directors call the parent company's lack of adherence to the initial agreement.

Write to Aimee Look at aimee.look@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 13, 2026 11:55 ET (16:55 GMT)

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